


A Matter of Convenience

by pterawaters



Series: 31 Day H50 Challenge 2016 [1]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Car Accidents, Hospitals, M/M, Marriage of Convenience, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-24 04:17:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6141229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pterawaters/pseuds/pterawaters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Danny gets hurt in a car crash and the hospital won't tell Steve anything, Steve decides that things have to change. How better to make sure he can take care of his best friend than by marrying him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Accident

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of my 31 day H50 Challenge, which will run throughout March. Each part of this story will likely be short (500-1000 words or so), and will be posted as chapters of this work. Other parts of the Challenge, which will include different stories and different ships, will be posted as entries in this series. This story has been beta read by [clindzy](http://archiveofourown.org/users/clindzy/pseuds/clindzy). Thanks for your help!

When the phone rings in the middle of the night, it's never a good sign. It's even less of a good sign when one doesn't have the number already programmed into their phone. Steve blinks the last of the sleep out of his eyes and answers. "McGarrett."

"Steve?" It's a woman's voice, and for a second, Steve thinks it might be Doris. "Oh, thank God."

Steve recognizes the voice. "Clara?"

"Are you at the hospital?" she asks, like Steve knows what she's talking about. "Have they told you anything about him? I couldn't get much out of the nurse when she called me for consent to the surgery."

Steve feels about fifteen steps behind in this conversation. "What? Hospital? Surgery?" _Danny_. "I'm not‒ Clara, I'm not there! What happened to him?" Steve is wide awake now, heart thundering in his chest.

"I don't know!" She sounds so helpless, and suddenly Steve can relate. "They just said something about emergency surgery. I don't even remember what they said they were operating on. I told them to save my baby."

Clara's voice cracks, and Steve thinks she's probably crying. "Okay," he says softly, hoping to calm her down. "Okay. Do you remember what hospital?"

"Queens, I think they said," Clara replies.

Steve thinks that makes sense. It's the biggest surgery center on the island, where they've got the trauma center, if Danny was brought into the ER. Fuck, he hopes Danny is okay. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes," he assures Clara. "As soon as I know anything, I'll call you back."

"Thank you, Steve." Clara breathes out heavily, like Steve's taken a burden from her, and it makes Steve feel a little better, that this is something he can do for her.

He hangs up without saying goodbye, because his only concern now is getting to the hospital and figuring out what the hell happened to Danny in the five hours since Steve last saw him.

Steve flips on his flashing lights as he makes his way onto H1 and back off a few blocks from Queens. It's the middle of the night, so there isn't much traffic, but it makes him feel better to drive over the speed limit. He leaves his car with the valet, and storms in through the emergency department, flashing his badge at the desk attendant. 

"I need to know where Daniel Williams is, right now," Steve demands, hand on his hip where his gun would normally sit.

"Are you family?" The woman says, typing something into her computer, seemingly unaware of Steve’s badge or the urgency in his tone. 

"Yes!" Steve replies. Danny is the closest thing to family Steve has left. 

The attendant raises an eyebrow at him. "Unless your name is Grace Williams or Clara Williams, I can't release any information to you."

"Clara's in New Jersey," Steve insists, slapping his hands down onto the counter space between him and the woman. "She sent me here. He's my goddamn partner, and I need you to tell me where he is!"

The woman has the courtesy to look scared of Steve, but she still shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but his doctors haven't released any public information yet. Unless you're legally married, I can't tell you anything."

"Can you tell me if he's alive or not?" Steve looms over the counter.

The attendant presses a few more buttons, sighs, and then says, "I can tell you he's in serious but stable condition, and that he's in the surgery department. Beyond that, you're going to have to wait until he wakes up and gives consent for you to hear more."

"Yeah, okay," Steve says, waving off the last of the unimportant words there at the end. He points to the hospital map laminated onto the countertop between the two of them. "Which way to surgery?"

The attendant points the way and Steve rushes in that direction, calling Clara as he goes. "I don't know much," he says when she answers. "In the surgery department, serious but stable condition. Did they tell you how this happened?"

"Car accident, I think," Clara replies, and she sounds like she might be crying. 

"I'll make some calls, try to find out more," Steve tells her. "Hang in there, Clara, okay?"

"Thank you, Steve," she says with a sigh. "You're the best friend my boy could ever ask for."

Steve feels his face grow hot, so he says his goodbyes and hangs up. At the surgery department, he tells the nurse he's here for Danny, and then he phones HPD. If there was a car accident, they're bound to know more about it. As the phone rings, Steve sits and waits, his leg bouncing with adrenaline. 

This is stupid. Steve should've been the first one they called after Danny got in an accident. Hell, he should've been there with Danny. Why wasn't Steve there? It's not like he had somewhere better to be. 

Steve vows then and there that something like this is never going to happen again. 


	2. The Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny wakes up and Steve takes action.

When Danny wakes up, it takes him a long minute to figure out what's going on. He doesn't remember how he got here, and here appears to be a hospital, which is never good. He carefully moves his sore right arm to his head (noting his left arm is in a sling), and finds a bandage over his left temple, where his hair should be.

_Fuck_.

Danny doesn't even remember how this happened.

There's no one else in the room, so Danny fumbles around until he finds the call button that will summon the nurse. It's a testament to how many times he's been in the hospital when he finds the button within a second, even though he's sure he's coming off some pretty powerful sedatives.

It takes the nurse a few minutes to make an appearance, probably because Danny's not immediately dying, though his throat does feel well and truly sandpapered. When she comes in, she says, "So! You're awake!"

"Yeah," Danny grumbles. He's got a few more choice words for her perky attitude and ability to point out the obvious, but he doesn't want to piss off the person responsible for taking care of him, so he keeps his mouth shut.

"It's not quite visiting hours, but your friend has been bothering us to death out there," she says, rolling her eyes as she checks the machines around Danny. "Would you mind if he came in to see you?"

She can only be talking about one person. "Yeah, let Steve in. He might start shooting soon, if he doesn't get to see me."

With a smile, the nurse says, "It's sweet how devoted he is. He's been waiting for you all night."

Before Danny can ask what she means by "all night" and what time it is, she's leaving. Steve pushes his way through the door just as she leaves it, his eyes wide and kind of crazy-looking. 

With a loud breath, Steve says, "Danny." Danny feels like he's disappointed Steve somehow. "Wow. You are really banged up, buddy."

"What happened?" Danny asks, reaching for the glass of water Steve hands him. 

"They won't tell me the medical stuff, but I got out of HPD that a drunk driver T-boned you while you were going through an intersection last night."

Danny doesn't remember this happening at all. "My car?" he asks warily, knowing that if he's in the hospital, his car can't be in very good shape."

Steve shakes his head. "Totaled. They towed it to the HPD impound, so you can go through it later, make sure you got everything."

"Fuck." Danny thinks that pretty much sums up the situation.

"Yeah," Steve agrees, sitting down next to Danny's bed and putting his hand on Danny's uninjured right arm. "I've already got Chin working with the insurance company so we can order you a new one."

Danny can't help but laugh at that. Steve will probably miss that car more than Danny will.

Before Danny can respond, a woman wearing a lab coat comes into the room. "Good morning, Mr. Williams. How are you feeling?"

"Like I got run over by a truck," Danny replies, and while Steve grins, the doctor just raises one eyebrow and moves on.

"Is it okay to discuss your medical condition in front of your friend?" she asks, giving Steve a little bit of a distrustful look. Man, Steve must've given the whole hospital hell trying to figure out what happened to him. Danny can honestly say he feels touched by the effort, though honestly he shouldn't have expected anything less from Steve.

"Uh, yeah," Danny assures her. "No problem talking in front of him. I promise."

She tells Danny he's got a dislocated shoulder; a cut on his scalp, but no concussion; a few broken bones in his foot; and some internal bleeding near his colon that they had to do surgery to repair.

As she checks Danny over and then leaves, with a promise to come back soon, Danny turns to Steve and says, "Well, no wonder I feel like crap." He sighs, closing his eyes and resting back against his pillows. "Hey, does Grace know anything yet? Does my mom?"

"Yeah, your mom knows you went into surgery. They called her for consent to do it. Apparently she's your emergency contact," Steve says, with this hard look, and Danny takes a moment to try to understand that expression.

Eventually he asks, "Are you _jealous_ the hospital called my mother?"

"They should've called me," Steve insists, scooting his chair closer to Danny's bed. "She's all the way in Jersey. I'm _here_. They should've called me."

Steve looks away and Danny can't help but suspect that there's more going on here than practicality. "You were worried about me," Danny surmises. "I get that, Steve, I do. But what do you want? You want me to change all my paperwork? Get you named next of kin, over Grace? Give you power of attorney? What?"

So softly that Danny's sure the crash has rattled his brain and he's not hearing right, Steve says, "I want you to marry me."

Danny can't help it. He laughs. It jostles his shoulder and pulls on the stitches in his side, making them hurt like hell, even through the pain medication he knows they have him on. "What?"

"Marry me."

"Steve. I'm not‒ I don't‒" Danny tries to explain his thoughts surrounding Steve's proposal, but honestly, he's too flummoxed to put them together properly. "I'm flattered, but‒"

"Just as an arrangement," Steve insists. "So I know I can take care of you if I need to." He sighs, pulling back and putting his hand over his eyes. "You have no idea what it was like, trying to get information out of these people, Danny. It drove me crazy."

"Well, I can see that," Danny replies. "Because this plan of yours is crazy. What if I meet someone, huh? What if you get over your fear of commitment and you meet someone?"

"Then we'll call it off, because then at least you'll have someone here, on the island, who can take care of you." Steve gives Danny one of his intense stares, and Danny notices he didn't reply to the part about Steve actually meeting someone. 

It's got to be the pain meds talking, because Danny finds himself actually considering this plan of Steve's. Really, what's the downside? He's already been divorced once. What's another time? Hell, at this rate, Danny's starting to think he'll never find someone he can love the way he loved Rachel at the beginning.

Plus, this way he'll get to take care of Steve, too. God knows Steve needs it sometimes.

"Yeah, sure. What the hell? Let's do it."

Steve's jaw drops. "Really?"

"Yeah. As soon as they let me out of this dump, we'll go to city hall and get it done." He points at Steve. "This was your crazy plan; you're buying the rings."

That bright smile spreads over Steve's face and he leans forward, squeezing Danny's wrist. "Whatever you want, Danny. I'll do it."

Danny makes a mental note to take advantage of that promise as often as possible.


	3. Headquarters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The others notice Steve and Danny have gotten married.

"Wait, wait, wait," Lou says, interrupting Chin during his run down of the case. "Are we not going to talk about the fact that these two are now wearing wedding rings?" He points back and forth between Steve and Danny.

Steve freezes, because he knows he and Danny talked about what they were going to tell the team, but somehow it's all blank from his mind at this particular moment. "Don't worry about it," he finds himself saying.

"Don't worry about it?" Lou repeats with a scoff. "Are you two hearing this?" He looks to Chin and Kono to back him up.

"Really, it was only a matter of time," Kono says, throwing her arm around Danny's shoulders, mindful of the one that's still in a sling. Danny puts up with her, simply rolling his eyes and sighing. He shifts his weight away from her, but that puts him more on his broken foot, wincing and leaning back toward Kono. Steve wants to tell Danny to just sit down already, but Kono continues, "I'm just hurt we weren't invited to the event."

"There was no event," Danny insists, frowning at Steve. "We just went to city hall and filled out the paperwork."

"So you admit getting married to each other," Chin says, crossing his arms over his chest and raising his eyebrows. "Interesting."

"It's just a- a convenience thing," Steve insists. "Okay? Can we get back to the case?"

The long stares from three directions make Steve feel like he's going to boil out of his skin with embarrassment. "This way Danny and I can make medical decisions for each other."

Chin frowns and asks, "You do know there's something called 'power of attorney' for that, right?"

"And sort out all the legal mumbo jumbo while this guy is bleeding out in the ER?" Danny says, pointing at Steve. "Yeah, I don't think so. This," he points to the ring on his finger, "is faster. More…" He trails off like he's looking for the right word.

"Expedient," Steve supplies.

"Yeah, expedient," Danny agrees. He shields his mouth from Steve and says to the others in a fake whisper, "Really, I'm gonna take him for half his money. You wouldn't believe how much this cheapskate has saved up."

The others laugh, and then Chin goes back to explaining the case.

Once Steve gets Danny alone in the car, on their way to talk to a witness, Steve asks, "How do you know how much money I have saved?"

"I'm a detective," Danny replies with a cheeky grin. "I detect."

Steve laughs and shakes his head.


	4. The Ambulance Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course Steve would get hurt eventually.

"Steve!" Danny cries, running as fast as his bad knee will carry him toward the place where he saw Steve get thrown by the earthmover bucket that Kasey swung at him. "Steve! Steve!"

Danny finds his husband face-down on the concrete, not moving. "Oh, God," Danny whispers, out of breath as he scrambles to Steve's side. "Please, God, don't be dead. Steve?"

Steve groans, which means he's not dead, and Danny's heart starts beating again. "What happened?" Steve tries to sit up, but hisses and grips at his arm. 

"You got sent flying, probably landed wrong, huh?" Danny gingerly helps Steve up to sitting. 

Steve hisses again, looking at his right arm. "It's broken. Shit." Then Steve gets this funny look on his face, and Danny barely notices Steve's eyes rolling back in time to catch him when he passes out. 

"Fuck," Danny mutters, hardly able to breathe with worry as he lowers Steve down into his lap. He calls out to the others, "Get an ambulance!"

Kono and Chin drop down beside Danny, Lou standing a few feet away, talking to dispatch on his phone. "What happened?" Chin asks, his hands hovering over Steve like he's not sure what to do.

"He got hit by that-that…" Danny doesn't have the words, so he points up at the construction equipment. "Please tell me you got Kasey."

"We got him," Kono assures Danny, reaching out and squeezing Danny's arm. "I hog-tied him, and left him in Duke's hands. It's all good." She looks down at Steve, where Chin is patting Steve's face, trying to get him to wake up. "Well…"

"Ambulance is only a few minutes out," Lou says, phone still to his ear.

"Steve. Steve!" Chin cries, still trying to wake Steve while Danny holds Steve's head in his lap. 

Steve's eyes flutter and open, focusing first on Chin, then up at Danny. He smiles sleepily and reaches for Danny's face with his good arm. Danny grabs Steve's hand, because he's clearly not quite in his right mind. 

"You back with us, buddy?" "Danno," Steve says, his speech slow and careful. He seems to lose track of his thought, eyes breaking away from Danny's as he frowns.

This is all wrong. Steve is one of the sharpest guys Danny knows. Seeing him like this makes Danny want to hit someone, or cry, or maybe both. "You're gonna be okay, babe," Danny insists, his hand coming away from the back of Steve's head sticky with blood. "You just hit your head a little bit, okay?"

"Shit," Steve says, slowly putting his hand to the back of his head. "Did we get…"

"Got 'im, boss," Kono assures Steve with a smile. "You just worry about getting stitched up."

"Yeah," Steve says as Danny's attention is drawn away by the paramedics arriving. They're still a few dozen yards out when Danny feels Steve grabbing at him, almost weakly. "Dan–"

Danny folds his hand into Steve's. "Yeah, I'm here, Steve. I got you."

Danny doesn't let go until the medics make him as they strap Steve to a backboard, and then a gurney. As they load Steve into the ambulance, Danny tries to climb in after them, but one of the medics puts her hand on Danny's chest, keeping him out of the vehicle. "You can follow us to the hospital, Detective."

"Excuse me?" Danny says, frowning at the medic's hand. "Like hell I am. Now let me into the–"

" _Detective_!" she says, in that no-nonsense voice that would normally make that little problem-with-authority corner of Danny's brain light up. Today, it does a whole hell of a lot more than that.

Danny practically snarls, "If you think there is any way in this universe I am not accompanying my husband to the hospital, you are sorely mistaken. Now, are we going to get going, or are we going to have a problem?"

The medic's eyes go wide. "You're–" she says, looking back at Steve.

Holding up his left hand and the finger that's been wearing Steve's ring for almost a month, Danny says, "Yeah. So, can we go?"

Nodding, she moves further into the ambulance, making room for Danny, who climbs in after her. The other medic closes the door behind them, and then gets into the driver's seat. As they start moving, sirens going full force, Danny grabs Steve's hand again.

Steve's strapped to the backboard, so he can't look at Danny, but he squeezes Danny's hand and says, "See? I told you this was a good idea."

Danny laughs and pats Steve's knee with his free hand. "Yeah, yeah. You're going to rub this in for years, aren't you?"

"You know it," Steve replies, his voice happy, but weaker than usual. Danny prays that the doctors can fix Steve without too much trouble. A few stitches, an ice-pack, a cast. It can't be worse than that. Danny won't allow it.


	5. Convalescence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny takes care of Steve.

"Danny!" Steve complains as Danny cuts in front of him to open the door for him. "I could've done it!"

"With what?" Danny asks, ushering Steve through the door. "One arm is broken, and the other wrist is sprained. Not to mention the concussion, the cracked ribs, or any of the intense bruising all over your body. You, my friend, are helpless."

Steve groans and moves further into Danny's house, rounding the couch and then gingerly lowering himself onto it. "You don't have to sound so happy about this."

"I'm not happy that you're suffering," Danny insists, setting down Steve's bags. "I swear I'm not. Maybe I'm a little amused that your reckless ways have caught up with you like this, but amused and happy are definitely not the same thing."

Steve sighs, looking down at his – well, _useless_ – hands. He can use his fingers well enough to do some things on his own, but carrying anything except with his elbows is right out at least until his sprained wrist heals. Steve admits, "I'm kinda thirsty. Can you see through your amusement long enough to get me something?"

"Why do you think I brought you to my house?" Danny asks, disappearing through the door into the kitchen and coming back with a glass of water, complete with a straw in it. "You, my friend, are going to be at my mercy for the next week."

"Why couldn't I just heal up at my house, where I live?" Steve asks, though he gratefully takes a long few swallows of water when Danny holds the glass close enough. 

Danny grins that sarcastic smile of his and says, "If you think I'm waking you up every two hours without the comfort of my own bed, you're sadly mistaken, my friend."

"And who put you in charge of that?" Steve asks, even though he knows the answer. 

Danny gives Steve a look, then holds up his left hand, wiggling his ring finger. "You did."

Steve can't help but let out a laugh, amused at himself, and amused at the whole situation he's gotten into. "Yeah, I suppose I did."

Steve doesn't tell Danny that he never seriously considered that he'd be the one to get hurt, with Danny taking care of him, rather than the other way around. Steve smiles at his husband and says, "Thanks, Danny."

"Yeah, well," Danny says, turning away almost bashfully. Then he points a finger at Steve and says, "You hang out here. I'm going to make some lunch."

Settling back against the couch cushions, Steve wonders what the harm would be to letting Danny take care of him for a few days. It doesn't seem like Danny minds, so why should Steve? Especially since Steve can think of at least two ways to thank Danny once he's all healed up. Having a six-pack of Danny's favorite East Coast beer shipped in would probably be thanks enough, wouldn't it?

Yeah, it definitely would.

With a satisfying plan in mind, Steve settles further into the couch, kicking up his feet and closing his eyes. If having a spouse means having someone to take care of you, Steve thinks he was stupid to be so afraid of marriage before.

"Get your shoes off my couch," Danny yells from the kitchen, startling Steve out of the doze he'd slipped into.

Steve kicks off his shoes, smiling to himself. He wonders if Danny knows how much he's living up to his husband role right now. Probably not. Steve's going to tease him about it later. Yeah, that's going to happen.


	6. Florence Nightingale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve has a revelation.

Steve is so bored he could practically scream. He's already been through everything on Danny's DVR, and all the movies on Danny's DVD shelf. He wants to get up and _move_ , but his cracked ribs make it painful to do much more than sedate walking. Swimming is right out, even if he were to wrap his arm cast in plastic.

Luckily, that's when Danny comes home. "Burgers for dinner alright?" Danny asks, practically tossing the take out bag at Steve. 

Steve catches it with his no-longer-sprained hand, and asks, "What if I didn't want burgers?"

"Too bad," Danny says, coming back into the living room with a beer in one hand and an ice pack in the other. He plops down on the couch next to Steve with a sigh. "I had to do my job, and keep Kono from doing your job too vigorously, all day. The only way I'm leaving this house before eight tomorrow morning is if it's on fire."

Steve takes the ice pack when Danny hands it to him, tucking it between his ribs and his broken arm. It occurs to him that he didn't even have to ask Danny for the ice. Since Danny all but moved Steve into his house, Danny has taken charge of Steve's healing process. He doesn't do things quite the way Steve would've, but Steve's been too grateful for the help to complain.

Nor is he going to complain about the way Danny got Steve's burger exactly the way he likes it, along with the large order of fries. "Thanks, Danny," Steve says, nudging Danny's knee with his own. 

"You got it, buddy," Danny replies, picking up the remote and turning the channels until he settles on some sitcom Steve has never seen before. The show is really stupid, but it makes Danny laugh around mouthfuls of his dinner, and suddenly Steve is fond of the show.

As Steve brings his burger to his mouth, he notices the lamplight glinting off the ring on his finger. 

Holy shit.

It's not the show Steve is suddenly fond of, it's Danny. And Steve's feelings aren't just _fond_. Steve realizes he would be perfectly happy kissing that smile of Danny's. 

Steve has gone and fallen in love with his husband. 

It's okay, though, right? Steve can work with this. This might actually be a good thing. Most people are in love with their spouses. Then again, most people realize such a thing before getting married.

What if Steve tells this revelation to Danny, and Danny freaks out? What if it makes him want to get a divorce? Steve can't have that.

Well, it was suspiciously easy to get Danny to marry him in the first place. How hard could it be to make Danny fall in love with him? If Danny falls in love before he realizes Steve's feelings, everything will work out!

Won't it?

A commercial rolls around, and Steve figures there's no better time to get his plan started than the present. Clearing his throat, Steve says, "Hey, Danno. You mind if I stay an extra week? The stairs at my house, with my ribs…"

"Sure," Danny says, swallowing a bite. "I mean, technically mi casa es su casa. What with the–" He wiggles his left ring finger. "Besides, you've been a pretty good roommate this time around."

"Yeah?" Steve asks, pleased with himself and smiling. "That's because I'm a better houseguest than you are. Respectful of your home."

"A better houseguest?" Danny asks, clearly unswayed by Steve's argument. "Only because you're practically an invalid. If you were up and moving around, you'd be changing things left and right without even asking."

Steve reaches over with his uninjured hand and places it on Danny's wrist. Meeting Danny's eyes, Steve says, "I promise I won't change anything about your house without asking first."

Danny gives Steve a confused look for a moment, before saying, "Well, okay. Good. Thanks." He covers Steve's hand with his own and pats it a few times. "With a promise like that on deck, you can stay as long as you need to, buddy."

Steve pulls his hand away, even though he doesn't really want to yet, and readjusts the ice pack against his ribs. "I'm gonna hold you to that, Danno."

With a laugh, Danny says, "I'm sure you will."


	7. It's (Not) A Date

"Hey," Steve says from the office doorway, making Danny look up. Danny has spent the last hour combing through phone records and he feels like he's about to go permanently cross-eyed.

"What's up?" Danny asks, noticing how he's actually starting to get used to the sight of Steve in a cast and sling. It kind of reminds Danny of the first year he and Steve worked together, while Steve was still Navy-SEAL reckless. Now he's calmed down a little into a baseline sort of reckless that still threatens to give Danny a heart attack on a monthly basis. 

"I wanna take you out for dinner," Steve says, scratching his eyebrow with his good hand. "You know, as a sort of thank you for taking care of me the past few weeks."

"And you'll pay?" Danny asks, raising his eyebrows at Steve. 

Steve chuckles. "Yes. Of course I'll pay. It's supposed to be a thank you."

"Huh." Danny takes a good look at Steve. He doesn't know why he's so surprised at the offer. Steve is a good friend, and Danny did put in a lot of work taking care of him. Somehow Danny expected to be taken for granted. That was his last marriage, though. Smiling, Danny says, "Yeah, sure. I'm looking forward to it."

Steve grins brightly, his whole face lighting up. "Great! I'll drive!" He turns on his heel and leaves.

"No!" Danny calls after Steve. "Your arm barely works!" Steve keeps walking away, so Danny raises his voice even further. "I'm going to drive!"

Steve ignores Danny. Of course he does. 

~*~

Sitting across the booth from Steve, Danny watches Steve over his menu. 

"What are you looking at?" Steve asks without looking up from his menu.

"You're wearing a jacket," Danny points out, putting down his menu and looking Steve up and down. "How did you even get the jacket over your cast?" There's light shining off Steve's hair, which makes Danny ask, "Did you put _gel_ in your hair?"

"Is that not allowed?" Steve asks, completely unruffled by Danny's line of questioning. "I think I'm going to have the ribeye. What about you?"

"Lobster," Danny says, not even caring if it's on the menu or not. "And a Kobe beef burger. With caviar on top."

Steve smiles serenely and picks up his beer. "If that's what you want." He smiles at Danny as he takes a sip.

Danny has no idea what's going on. 

"Maybe I'll just have chicken," Danny capitulates, looking back at the menu to find something he'll actually eat.

"Sure."

Danny puts his menu down and smacks his hand down over it. "Okay, who the hell are you, and what have you done with Steve? What are you playing at here, with this anything goes attitude? You're really all set to buy me whatever I want?" Danny scoffs, pointing across the table at Steve. "You're trying to butter me up for something, aren't you?"

Steve watches Danny's rant with this infuriatingly serene smile. "Are you done?" he asks with laughter in his voice. 

"Answer the question, McGarrett."

"I really just want to show my appreciation for you, Danny," Steve says, reaching across the table with his good hand to squeeze Danny's. His hand is warm, and his squeeze just firm enough to be deliberate. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"I guess not," Danny says, watching as Steve pulls his hand away. It dawns on Danny that Steve has spent a lot of time out of work the past couple weeks, which means a lot of time watching daytime TV. He probably got hooked on one of those self-help shows, and now he's doing stuff they suggested to...what? Better his relationships?

In the interest of open communication, if that's the kick Steve's on at the moment, Danny says, "Well, I appreciate you appreciating me."

As the meal goes on, and Steve talks about football games from his high school career, Danny thinks it's been nice having Steve at the house lately. He only has the kids a few times a week, and the rest of time it's just him. It's been nice having company.

Danny kind of doesn't want Steve to go back to his own house. Maybe if Danny doesn't bring it up, Steve won't think to move out.

It's worth a shot anyway.

"Save room for dessert," Steve says. "I hear this place has a great chocolate lava cake. We can split one."

"Yeah, okay," Danny says, and forty minutes later, his fork scratches against Steve's as they share a monstrosity of chocolate. 

Steve looks truly happy, which makes Danny grin like a clown. It's a good night.


	8. Chapter 8

Danny sighs happily, dropping his mitt onto the couch as he and Steve get into the house. "I'm still psyched about that ninth-inning double that won us the game," he says, heading for the kitchen.

Steve trails after, following Danny and leaning against the kitchen island as he watches Danny pour himself a glass of water. His ribs are feeling almost healed, and his cast comes off next week. He kind of expects Danny to tell him any day that it's really time he go back to his own house. It hasn't happened yet, and Steve's not sure if it's because his plan to woo Danny is working, or if Danny's just being overly nice. 

Overly nice isn't a quality Steve usually associates with Danny, but he's good to his friends, and even better to his family. Steve smiles, knowing Danny considers him family. 

"It was a good play," Steve says, though he doesn't know much about baseball beyond the very basics. 

Danny takes a few long swallows of his water (Steve can't help but watch), and then asks, "Hey, what do I owe you for the ticket?"

"My treat," Steve says, waving Danny off when he starts to protest. "Really. It was a college game. The tickets were cheap, I promise."

"And the hot dogs, and the beers and the cab home?" Danny asks, and now he's frowning, which is the opposite of what Steve's going for here. 

But if Danny pays for his half of the evening, it's not a date. Maybe it's not really a date since Danny doesn't know it's a date, but Steve had a nice time pretending this evening. 

"Just…" Steve says with a sigh, stepping up to Danny and putting his hands on Danny's shoulders. "Just give me ten more seconds, and then we can talk about paying me back for whatever you want."

"Ten more seconds for what?" Danny asks, looking up at Steve, his hand resting lightly on Steve's ribs. 

Well, it's now or never. Screwing up his courage, Steve says, "For this."

Then he ducks down and kisses Danny softly, right on the lips. 

Steve doesn't get punched or shoved away, but Danny's hand falls from Steve's side. Danny also doesn't seem to be kissing back. 

As Steve pulls back and sees Danny's furrowed brow and his frown, Steve realizes he's made an incredible tactical error. 

"Shit, sorry," Steve says, pulling away from Danny. Oh, this is bad. This is the worst. "I'll– I'll go."

Steve doesn't even know where to start packing up his things. They're scattered around the house, though they're mostly concentrated in the room that's Charlie's when he stays over, relegating Steve to the couch for the night. 

Steve heads back through the house in the direction of Charlie's room, stopping by the hall bathroom for his toothbrush and shaving kit. He's halfway through packing his bag when Danny speaks from the doorway.

"It was a date," Danny says, one hand on his hip, the other brushing back over his hair. "They've all been dates, haven't they?"

"Kind of," Steve says, resisting the urge to keep packing. "Are you mad that they were?"

"Yeah," Danny says. "I never agreed to dates. This whole time I thought you were being a good friend."

Steve's too exasperated to answer. He goes back to packing his bag. "Sorry. It was a bad idea."

"Hey," Danny says, and his voice is softer this time. He comes into the room and takes Steve's elbow in his hand. "The bad idea was not telling me these were dates."

"If I'd told you," Steve insists, not able to look at Danny's face except in occasional, furtive glances. "You wouldn't have gone."

"You wouldn't know that, because you never asked," Danny insists. Then he sighs and snaps, "Oh, would you stop looking like I took all your guns away?"

Steve pouts. He should've known this was going to blow up in his face. Things like this always do.

Except Danny's moving closer, until he's the one with his hands on Steve's shoulders. "C'mere," he says, pulling Steve into a hug. 

Steve accepts the hug gratefully, not really sure what Danny means by it. He holds Danny as close as he can with one arm in its cast. 

During the hug, Danny says against Steve's shoulder, "Thank you for tonight, Steve. I had a lot of fun."

"Until I ruined it."

Danny snorts with laughter. Pulling back from the hug, he takes Steve's face in his hands and says, "What the hell." Then Danny pulls Steve down into a short, sweet kiss.

"Danny?" Steve asks, licking his lips to taste Danny on them, and more confused than ever. 

Smiling, Danny says, "Goodnight, Steve," and leaves the room. 

Steve sits down on the bed, still not quite sure what just happened. Eventually, he comes to the conclusion that his plan just might have worked. He lays down and smiles up at the ceiling. 

Steve's house remains empty that night, like it has every night since Danny decided to take care of him. 


	9. Chapter 9

Danny pulls up to his favorite spot on the island, positioning the last few rays of sunlight right in the center of the windshield. It's a fantastic view, even if the light is fading quickly. "How's this?" Danny asks Steve as he puts the car into park and kills the engine.

"It's good, Danny," Steve replies, sitting back in the passenger seat with a happy sigh. He smiles and reaches for Danny's hand, which Danny lets him hold. 

"Holding your hand is much better since you got the cast off, babe," Danny says, lacing his fingers with Steve's and looking out over the ocean. 

"I'm more happy about my ribs finally healing," Steve says, rubbing his side with his free hand. "I can actually _do things_ again."

A chuckle escapes Danny's mouth before he can stop it. "That's because your idea of being able to 'do stuff' includes jumping off high places, shooting big guns, and tackling suspects."

"What better reason could there be to get up in the morning?" Steve asks with a cheeky grin.

Danny decides to let his response be a simple look. He's not sure Steve's going to be able to see him well enough to interpret the look, but then Steve looks away, clearing his throat and shifting in his seat. "I can think of several things better," Danny says after a moment.

It's taken Danny a little bit to shift gears and start thinking about Steve in a non-platonic way. The kisses they've shared over the past few weeks have certainly helped. The ring on Danny's finger keeps reminding Danny that he should have known better than to think this marriage was just an arrangement between friends. In some ways he doubts that he and Steve had ever been just friends. 

"Yeah, well," Steve says, leaning more toward Danny and squeezing Danny's hand. "That stuff will be a lot easier with functional ribs, too."

A thrill runs up Danny's body at the suggestion, and he reaches for Steve. "C'mere."

Steve lets himself be pulled in, far enough that Danny can press a kiss to Steve's mouth. And then another. 

When Steve opens his mouth and deepens the kiss, Danny breathes in sharply through his nose. His heart kicks up a few notches and his body definitely takes notice of the fact that there's a tongue, belonging to Steve McGarrett, Danny's _husband_ , in Danny's mouth. 

Danny can't get enough. He leans closer to Steve, seeking out more of everything. The position he finds himself in isn't exactly comfortable, with the gear shifter in the way. Still, Danny wouldn't give this up for anything. 

A loud rapping noise on the window behind Danny startles him away from Steve. Turning toward the noise, Danny gets a flashlight in his eyes. He uses his hand to shield his eyes, which had adjusted to the dark of the car. Catching a glimpse of an HPD uniform, Danny mutters, "Can you believe this?"

He turns the key just far enough to get the electrical going and rolls down his window. "What?"

"Oh, Detective Williams," a familiar voice says, though its owner doesn't do Danny the courtesy of shining his flashlight elsewhere until he leans down. Looking into the car, Officer Pua Kai shines the flashlight further into the car. "And Commander McGarrett. Did you know you're parked in an illegal spot?"

"Illegal?" Danny asks with a frustrated huff. His whole body is aching to turn back toward Steve and resume their previous activities. "It's the side of the road, Pua. There aren't any signs."

"Still, I have to make sure you're not loitering on public property after dark," Pua says.

Steve snickers into his hand, which Danny just finds _so_ helpful. 

"Look, we'll head home, okay?" Danny asks, reaching out the window and stopping Pua from grabbing his ticket book. "If you give me a ticket, I swear to god I will rip it up and feed it to you, alright? We've been 'loitering' for maybe ten minutes. The sun _just_ went down. Now, is a little alone time with my husband too much to ask for without getting punished for it?"

"Uh, I guess not," Pua says, putting his book back into his pocket. "But you'll owe me one."

"Thanks, Pua!" Steve cries, saving his laughter until Danny grudgingly thanks Pua as well and rolls up the window. 

Starting the car back up, Danny says, "I can't believe that. What cop goes around busting up make out sessions anymore? This isn't the fifties."

"Pua is _very_ dedicated," Steve replies, setting his arm behind Danny's seat, his armpit sort of resting on Danny's shoulder. 

Danny pulls away from the curb and heads in the direction of home. "Continue where we left off when we get back to the house, you think?"

"Sure," Steve replies with another laugh, dropping his hand down to Danny's thigh.

Danny's pants instantly become tighter and he finds it much more difficult to focus on the road. "If we crash, I'm blaming you, McGarrett."

Steve laughs and squeezes Danny's thigh again.

"I'm going to kill you," Danny says through gritted teeth. It's a lie, because Danny's quickly realizing just how much of his time lately he's spent with Steve. Killing him would just mean missing him too much. 

Danny clenches his jaw and tries not to speed on the way back down into town. 

**Author's Note:**

> [My 31 day challenge on tumblr](http://pterawaters.tumblr.com/tagged/ptera%27s-31-day-h50-challenge-2016/chrono).


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